Once Upon A Time In Lylat
by darkrangerj
Summary: A cunning criminal has entered the Lylat system, looking for two powerful weapons that could make him the most powerful in the system, or anywhere. Falco Lombardi enters the scene, with a vendetta. This is set shortly before the end of SF Adventure. K to
1. Chapter 1

Once Upon A Time In Lylat

Chapter 1: Katina Landing Zone

_Introduction: Hello everyone, and welcome to my first ever story, Once Upon a Time In Lylat. Never underestimate the power of Western themes._

Our story begins in a small spacecraft landing zone on the desert planet of Katina.

_Drip, drip, drip, drip,_ the coolant slowly trickled from a leaking panel in the three-story service building, one of the few buildings for miles.

_Drip, drip, drip, drip…_

…_drip, drip, smack!_ The dripping coolant met a sudden ending on the armored forelimb of a tall, armadillo-like creature. He stood completely still, as if nothing had happened for years at a time.

_Crackle, crick, crackle, crick,_ a lean gibbon creature cracked each knuckle on its long, black hands…one…by…one.

A third, hairy creature watched in a bored daze as a tiny bug flitted about in the air.

_I'm vaguely sure this has happened before_, the third moaned to himself, _somewhere far away_.

_Drip, drip…_

_Crackle, crick…_

_Bzzz…_

PHOOM! A loud laser shot blasted the tiny bug out of the air. _I was getting pretty tired of that_, the hairy creature smiled.

A small personal fighter slowly started its descent toward the equally small landing site. Noticing this, the armadillo gradually raised its arm and drank the coolant off it. The armadillo belched, and motioned lazily to the gibbon, who ceased his knuckle-cracking and started moving toward the landing pad. The hairy chimp and the armadillo followed suit, hands on their guns, just as the small fighter slowly drifted to a stop and landed, extended its landing gear, and came to a complete stop. Gradually, the super-glass canopy slowly came open, revealing that there was no pilot in the cockpit. Just as before, the canopy drifted to a close, the landing gear lifted, and the fighter ascended into the sky, revealing a blue falcon-man holding a large, forest-green bag. All three gun-men drew their laser pistols, and fired at the falcon-man, scattering the dirt all around him. The dust cloud, just as lethargic as the three gunmen, hung in the air. Just then, there was a warbling echo as a red-trailed projectile zipped out from the cloud and exploded right on top of the gibbon in the middle. The shockwave sent the gibbon and the chimp flailing to the left and right. They tried to fire again, but the falcon-man dove out the back of the dissipating cloud of dirt and blasted both of them with a machine gun. Wincing, he stood to his feet and held a place that was grazed by a blaster shot. "Ah, Katina…" the falcon-man said, grinning.

_Stay tuned for Chapter 2: Katina Station_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Katina Station

_Introduction: The avian newcomer travels in-land to a far more advanced landing station._

The tall avian ambled into the settled sand that lay in front of a lofty steel gate. The sun beating down on his face, he peered upward at the high top of the gate, and squinted. He then slowly looked back down to his side, where a blaster shot had nearly hit him, and winced, remembering the electric shock involved. Pushing it from his mind, he faced upward again, and firmly ordered into the wind, "Falcon Pack engage." (_See_ _Author Note_ 1 _at bottom_). A strong whirring sound like wind through a narrow space echoed from behind his back and into the desert, and he smirked. Tensing, he swiftly ducked halfway to the ground and leapt high into the air. Small thrusters behind him pushed him higher for three or four seconds, then released. His upward momentum carried him even higher, and he reached the top of the gate. The minute thrusters flared briefly, cushioning the jumper's landing. "Falcon Pack disengage," he called, and began hopping quickly down the flat, square surfaces of the metal wall as the Falcon Pack switched off. Waving to a loading worker as he got to his ground level, he jogged lightly across the metal-plated sandy floor to the main building. Entering through the west hangar, he nodded in brief greeting to the workers there as well. He strolled casually up to the worker-in-charge, a slim echidna who was typing coolly on a data-pad, and inquired, "Where can I find a medic?" Not showing much concern, she gestured cordially to an amphibian on the far side of the hangar without looking up from her work. Nodding again, the avian dashed across the plated floor and greeted the salamander, "Hey, Mister, any chance you could take a look at this for a second?" The salamander turned to him, calculated briefly, and said in a small voice, "Sure. Come this way, mister…um…"

"Lombardi," he followed.

They walked out of the hangar and into the main complex, where the salamander led him into a small room, closed the door and said, "You must understand, Mr. Lombardi, I don't have much equipment with me, so the most I can do is see what your problem is. I'm still waiting for the shipment." Mr. Lombardi blinked agreeably, and the medic took a more analytical look at the wound. "Hmm, your graze isn't all that bad, Mr. Lombardi, but do you mind telling me what you stuck your beak into? No offense."

"None taken, and it's nothing, doc. I just got in a tangle with some ruffians near Lathe Station."

"Mr. LeBaimy, and Lathe Station is pretty far away from Station Gamma. You an illegal dealer or something?" LeBaimy turned and put away his simple tools.

"No, nothing illegal. I'm just a courier," Lombardi lied.

LeBaimy bought it, "Courier, eh? How's that?"

"Some people have information they don't like to chance getting exposed over a tele-connection, no matter how secure. I make sure the right people get that information."

"They trust you?"

Lombardi looked ruffled for the first time that day, "Do I look like the kind of guy that would just spill it for any high bidder?" LeBaimy didn't answer, and Lombardi changed the subject, "You know, Mr. LeBaimy, you remind me of a certain acquaintance of mine."

"Oh, really? Who might this acquaintance be?"

"A Slippy Toad, a frog who -" Lombardi was cut off when a tall, grey wolf entered the room. "Mr. LeBaimy, I heard that you -" Now it was the wolf's turn to stop talking. He stared hard at Lombardi with his exposed eye, as he wore an eye-patch. This fox reminded Lombardi of those old stories about pirates. He slurred, "Do I…know you from somewhere? I've got the craziest feeling that…oh never mind." He turned back to the salamander, "So, LeBaimy, I heard you were at the station, and wondered if you could help me get some work done…" He lifted his eyepatch, revealing a damaged eye, bloodshot in the bottom left right corner. LeBaimy looked stunned, but recovered unusually quick, "Why, um, yes…I…how did that happen?"

The wolf growled quietly, but his anger wasn't so quiet, "Bad accident. Now can you help me or not?"

"Without a doubt, Mr. Wolf. There is a certain doctor on Colossi V that can help you. He's an excellent cyber-optics genius by the name of Doctor Vein Ducard," LeBaimy scribbled the name on a piece of paper and handed the slip to him, "Just tell Dr. Ducard that Donald LeBaimy sent you." The wolf turned to go, and once again stood to stare at Lombardi, "What's your name, bird?"

"Bill Grey," he snapped back.

That really raised the wolf's neck hair, and he tried again, mildly suspicious, "What's your name?"

"Katt Monroe, General Pepper, Beltino Toad."

The wolf growled furiously and stormed out of the room.

"What was that about? I thought you said your name was Mr. Lombardi?"

Lombardi dismissed the last comment and thanked the medic for helping him, and left the room. As he walked out into the station, he retrieved a small device from his pocket, entered some coordinates, and placed the device back in his pocket. After ensuring that no one was looking, he walked out into an abandoned runway on-base, and his sleek, blue-winged fighter arced downward from the sky. In a flash, he leapt on a wing and was gone. A mean-looking red-winged attack cruiser raised into the air stealthily and followed him.

_AN1: This story, for those who have played Star Fox games, is positioned between Star Fox 64 and Adventure. Falco Lombardi, the character present here, has split off from the Star Fox team and, in this story, gained access to some different technology than that which is present in the series. The Falcon Pack is a semi-jetpack-style thruster system I've come up with for the story to give Falco increased jumping/gliding abilities_.

_AN2: Bill Grey, Katt Monroe, General Pepper, and Beltino Toad are Star Fox characters. Speaking of which, the only things mentioned in this story so far that are mine are the unnamed gunmen and other unnamed characters (except Wolf), Lathe Station, Donald LeBaimy, and Dr. Ducard._

_Stay tuned for Chapter 3: Spaceflight_


End file.
